On any given day, people from varied walks of life, including lawyers and judges, accusers and the accused, pass through the doors of the Judge Edward J. Costello Courthouse complex at 32-36 Cherry St. in Burlington.

Just who was this man whose lifetime of work on the bench merited the high honor of having a Chittenden County courthouse named after him?

Judge Edward J. Costello was sworn in as Municipal Court judge in February of 1955 — a simpler time in Chittenden County jurisprudence, where violators from hitchhikers and traffic offenders, to petty thieves and prostitutes, would answer to a single Municipal Court judge in a makeshift courthouse on South Winooski Avenue. For those whose cases weren’t resolved on the spot, it was a short trip by sheriff’s escort across the street to the County Jail, where they would remain to face justice at a future date.

The jail at that time had an almost homelike atmosphere, with inmates enjoying a warm bed, a hot meal (provided by the sheriff’s wife), and a common area for recreation. Alcohol and other contraband were often passed through the bars from friends and family outside the jail, while the sheriff politely looked the other way.

The swearing in of Judge Costello, along with Sheriff Earle “Buzz” McLaughlin and State’s Attorney Allan Bruce, came at a time when crime was growing in proportion and intensity to the growth of the area population. Judge Costello was the right man at the right time to deal with an expanding criminal culture in Chittenden County.

Edward Joseph Costello was born in Rutland on Feb. 7, 1921. His father died when he was just 7 years old, leaving his mother with a family of nine children to feed.

A member of what is commonly referred today as “The Greatest Generation,” he served in the United States Navy during World War II, and was honorably discharged in February of 1946.

Judge Edward Costello served in the Navy during World War II.(Photo: Courtesy Sara Costello)

In September of 1947, he married Dorothy Rita Wimett, and worked briefly as a salesman before enrolling in the University of Vermont and later Boston University, where he received his law degree in 1952 with the help of the G.I. Bill. Eight children were born to Edward and Dorothy Costello between 1948 and 1963 — Jay (Edward Jr.), Sara, Sean, Paul, Dan, Mary, Tom and Steve.

Active in Republican Party

Judge Costello was a staunch supporter of the Republican Party, aiding in several campaigns beginning in 1948 and eventually becoming the Republican state campaign director in 1954. His loyalty and dedication to the party was rewarded at age 33, when he received his first judicial appointment by then Republican Gov. Joseph B. Johnson.

At that time, all Municipal Court judges required gubernatorial appointments and reappointments that usually ran along party lines. In 1962, Vermonters elected Philip Hoff as the first Democratic governor of Vermont in 100 years.

Despite Judge Costello’s staunch Republicanism, and protests from his own party, Gov. Hoff appointed him a Vermont District judge in 1966 — a testament to the reputation Costello had built in over a decade as a municipal judge.

From 1967 to 1980, Judge Costello served as chief trial judge, and thereafter, until his retirement in 1984, he served as administrative judge for the Trial Courts. In a resolution by the Senate and House of Representatives naming the new Chittenden County Courthouse in his honor it is stated: “…during all of those years, Judge Costello was known as a fair, efficient and impartial judge…”

Out on the streets, as well as throughout Chittenden County communities, Judge Costello’s reputation as a tough judge and strict disciplinarian grew. But his greatness came from toughness tempered with compassion. He once told his son Paul, “never let the interests of bureaucracy prevent you from seeing the human story of the individual in front of you.” Despite his stern courtroom demeanor, he also gained a reputation for his dry sense of humor. For example:

• He was known for his line, “If I see you in here again you better bring your toothbrush.”

• He was known for chastising someone arrested for excessive speeding with: “Anyone who drives that fast should be walking, and soon you will be.” This was often followed by the advice to “buy yourself a good pair of shoes.”

• Once a woman was fined $15 for a speeding violation that also included $1.70 in court costs the violator had not expected. She only had one more dollar to pay. The judge asked if anyone in the courtroom had 70 cents. When nobody spoke up, he banged his gavel and lowered the fine to $16, thus moving things along.

• A 17-year-old boy caught driving with beer in his car, denied drinking the beer. To wit, Judge Costello asked: “So you were just taking the beer out for a ride?”

• A young snowmobiler caught driving his rig on the interstate was informed by the judge: “You have just made history as the first person in Vermont to be charged with this offense.”

The Chittenden Municipal Courthouse building now houses the Spirit Dancer Books and Gifts store on South Winooski Avenue.(Photo: Courtesy)

Concerned about juvenile crime

Having been born into a large family, as well as fathering a large family of his own, he was deeply concerned with juvenile crime and the effect it had on both the child and the parents. In the Vermont State Resolution to name the new courthouse complex after him, it is stated: “Judge Costello was extremely effective in dealing with the problems facing our youth and their parents.”

He used an innovative style in dealing with youthful offenders, sometimes sentencing them to bring in a book report, or come back with an improved report card, or learning a musical instrument. He was the first judge to order community service as a sentence, and preferred probation over prison, to keep families together, and he sometimes reduced felonies to misdemeanors, knowing a felony could harm the convicted youth’s future. In Judge Costello’s courtroom, the juveniles, and not the parents, paid the fines. When a group of St. Michael students with fake I.D.’s were caught drinking in a bar, Judge Costello reminded them that the bar’s liquor license was now at stake, and the owner had a family to feed.

There were low points in his efforts to help young people. He was once assaulted in his courtroom by a young man who threw a speaker at the him, lacerating his face. The man later killed himself in prison. The offender had been raised in Week’s School, a reform school in Vergennes for juvenile delinquents that also housed children abandoned or unwanted by their parents. At the time, Judge Costello lamented to his daughter, Mary: “If he had had a decent childhood, he would have grown up to be a successful man.”

The former County Jailhouse that was on the corner of Main Street and South Winooski Avenue in Burlington. It stood between the fire station and the Ho Hum Motel, and across from the Chittenden Municipal Courthouse Building.(Photo: Photo courtesy Sheriff Kevin McLaughlin)

Mentoring of young lawyers

Another of Judge Costello’s lasting achievements was his mentoring of young lawyers. He often counseled them to change their client’s pleas from guilty to no contest. “It will look better on your client’s record,” he would advise. Sometimes, during a hearing, the Judge would suddenly blurt out, “objection sustained,” when there had been no objection made. It was a not-so-subtle reminder to counsel that inadmissible evidence was coming into the record, and counsel should start paying attention.

Often he would take a defense counsel aside and tell them they had done a particularly good job in a cross examining a witness, or giving a good closing statement. He knew the importance of a pat on the back from a presiding judge.

Judge Edward J. Costello, the native son of Vermont who presided over cases in Chittenden County for over 28 years, passed away on May 26, 1993. He lived long enough to receive the Declaration of a Joint Resolution from the Vermont House and Senate naming the new Chittenden County District and Family Court Complex in his honor. Although he never set foot in the building that bears his name, his legacy remains as a standard for those who follow in his footsteps.

Connie Cain Ramsey is the assistant judge of Chittenden County. She wrote 10 previous history columns for the Free Press called Courthouse Chronicles in 2014 and 2015.If you have any comments about this chronicle, she can be reached at Connie.Ramsey@vermont.gov. Jack Ramsey and Bob Boyd also contributed to this chronicle.